Nonprofitxpress roundup – Foundations expand role

* Oregon’s stumbling economy has prompted philanthropic groups to expand their roles and perspective to include issues such as the state’s recession and reform of taxes and public schools, The Oregonian reported Oct. 21.

* Foundations fear a bill a Pennsylvania bill aimed at the Hershey Trust could discourage philanthropists from putting their stock into foundations, the Associated Press reported Oct. 24. The bill would let the state attorney general require court approve for the sale of a public company controlled by a charitable trust.

* Retired banker David A. Rockefeller says he will donate all proceeds from his new book, “Memoirs,” to help the estimated 13 million African children orphaned or affected by HIV and AIDS, The New York Times reported Oct. 27.

* Lotus Development Corp. co-founder Mitch Kapor has created and financed a new nonprofit, the Open Source Applications Foundation, to create “open-source” software and offer its code free to any individual or organization if they also make free any code they produce using the foundation’s work, The New York Times reported Oct. 28.